The always alliterative Ambivalent Academic haz tagged me with the Cover Meme. Though I feel like I might be at the center of the maelstrom, that doesn't mean I have no time for a meme, right?
So, I present to you, the best cover. Ok, not the best, Jimi Hendrix's version of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" was taken, as was Johnny Cash's "Hurt." But this certainly is pretty cool. Let's set the scence for when you'd look to fire this up:
You're a parent, you've got a crabby/colicky/ornery child who just won't go to sleep despite drooping eyelids above black circles. Aha, a lullaby, that'll work. Now what to pick?
Need you ask? The answer is obvious: The lullaby renditions of Tool. Because there's nothing else I want my infant going to sleep to besides such sweet compositions as "Opiate" and "Schism." Here's hoping Volume II has Stinkfist. (Actually, I dig Tool, but c'mon.)
As for the worst cover, I have to go with Sixpence None the Richer's version of The La's "There She Goes". Why? Because other than the switch to a female lead vocal, this cover is essentially exactly the same as the original. That's a big fail in my book. Great covers reimagine the original in ways that the composer never saw, adding and extending it. Everytime I hear Sixpence's version I just think, "sheesh, I liked the version in 'So I Married an Axe Murderer' a helluva lot more."
Here it is if you must:
